A New Life
by NyanBonk
Summary: AU: Zombie Apoc never happens. Lee Everett moves into a new neighborhood after his wife cheats on him, later finding a young girl on the streets named Clementine, rated T for swearing and alcohol use, rating may change in the future. Will include CarLee in the future.
1. Chapter 1

Lee sighed, it had been a long week of frustration, anger, and confusion.

He had been driving to work when he began to feel sick, his head warming up.

"Fuck it." He said to himself, "Haven't taken a day off in two months, anyway."

He turned the car around and headed home, upon pulling into the driveway, he saw a stranger's car there. Lee widened his eyes as he stepped into the house. He began up the stairs quietly, making his way to the bedroom he and his wife shared. Lee pressed his ear against the door

"I love you baby..." He heard a voice say, his wife!

Lee gasped, his hands curling into fists as he barged into the room. He widened his eyes as he saw his wife naked on top of the bed, with a state senator in his underwear standing on the side of the bed. There was another gasp, this time a more collective one. Lee shook his head, staring at the two with an expression of hate and disgust. Her love was a lie, Ashley cheated on him with a state senator. Lee slammed the door, he didn't need much, other than his wallet and the keys to his car.

Returning to the present, yesterday was the day Lee had officially divorced with his wife. He was spending the time in a cheap hotel, having no where else to go. He told the news to his close friend, Kenny the night before. Just like a great friend would, Kenny sided with Lee a hundred and ten percent.

Lee sighed, getting off the bed and stepping into the bathroom, he turned on the faucet and grabbed his tooth-brush and some toothpaste. He didn't exactly need to brush right now , it was what? 10 AM? 11 AM? Lee didn't care, it was a weekend and he had decided he was going to do nothing other than wallow in self pity and watch television for the entirety of the day. Stepping out of the bathroom, his phone rang. Lee approached it, raising an eyebrow as he checked the caller's ID.

Kenny

Lee shrugged, tapping the call accept button on his smartphone and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hey Ken."

"Hey, Lee. You hanging in there?"

"I'm good, appreciate your support man. I really do."

"Look, man...I know you don't got anywhere to exactly live right now. And I was taking duck for a walk around the neighborhood today when I noticed that there's an apartment for rent right just a few houses down from Kat and I."

Lee widened his eyes, damn, maybe things were looking up.

"You still there, Lee?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm still here, man."

"Wanna' go check it out later? I don't imagine you got much planned."

Lee looked at the clock, 10:30 AM.

"Sure, I'll be at yours in a half hour."

"Alright pal', see you then."

A/N: Alrighty, uh. I'm pretty new at actually writing fan-fiction so I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I expect to crank out at least one more tonight...hopefully.


	2. A New Neighborhood

A/N: Another short chapter, i'm sorry. I PROOOOMIIIISE that the next one will be at least a thousand words. But for now, here you go!

* * *

Lee got up, stepping over to the window and opening the blinds for the first time since he arrived at the motel. Lee unlocked his door and walked out to his car, he got in and turned the ignition on.

Lee noticed Kenny and Duck playing frisbee in his front yard as he pulled into the driveway. Lee smiled at the two of them. They were so happy, their expressions mimicked the day, a beautiful sunny day, not a single cloud in sight. A Saturday that would be one to remember, and Lee surely would, had his wife not cheated on him the week before.

Lee got out of the car, Kenny took Duck over to greet him with a warm smile. Duck waved at Lee with a huge grin on his face. Lee chuckled, nothing could keep Duck's spirits down. He was always in a great mood, even though Kenny admitted a couple months ago that Duck was as smart as a bag of hammers.

Kenny invited Lee inside, as he stepped inside, he noticed Katjaa cooking lunch in the kitchen. They greeted each other with a friendly hug.

"It's so good to see you again, Lee." Katjaa said as they ended the embrace.

"Yeah, it's great to see you folks too. I couldn't ask for anyone better to be with me right now."

Kenny chuckled, opening the fridge up and pulling out a couple bottles of light beer. He held one out to Lee, Lee didn't usually drink, but hey. Why not?

Lee took the bottle from Ken, popping the cap off and clinking his bottle against Kenny's.

"Cheers."

Kenny smirked, he was happy to see that Lee was getting better. Kenny couldn't imagine what he'd be like if Katjaa were to cheat on him, he'd be a wreck for months. But he knew that Lee would be there for him, just like Kenny was there for Lee now.

After they had finished the beer, Kenny took Lee outside and began to walk to the house he had been talking about.

"It really ain't that far, you'll see. It's just a couple houses down from ours, we'd be more than happy to help you settle in. It's the least we can do, Lee."

Lee nodded, smiling "Thanks Ken."

On their way down, Lee noticed a rather small, brown haired girl getting her mail out of her mailbox at the bottom of the driveway. As she finished, she turned around, waving to the two.

"Hey, Ken." She said, noticing Lee, she raised an eyebrow "Who's this?"

Kenny patted Lee's back "This is Lee, Carley. He's thinking about moving in to the house next to yours."

Lee held his hand out to the woman, which she accepted.

"Lee Everett."

"Carley Bishop, nice to meet you."

As they finished their shake, Kenny tugged Lee along. "C'mon, pal'. You can meet everybody later." Lee waved a goodbye to Carley as Ken took him to the next house. They stepped inside, and damn, was it a step above the shitty motel room, actually, maybe two, and if you're counting how it's got like, quadruple the space, it totals to three whole steps above the motel. Lee was buying this, and he was going to start a new life here. He was going to completely forget his wife.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, reviews will be appreciated, they'll help me write faster. As I said, I promise the next chapter will be longer.


	3. Clementine

A/N: Hey guys, I'd like to thank you all for the kind reviews. It really means a lot that you're reading my work. As promised, this chapter is over a thousand words. And, to top it all off, Clementine makes her first appearance in this chapter! :P

* * *

A couple days after Kenny showing him the house, Lee officially was the owner of it. It was officially the Everett residence. Yeah, he liked the sound of that. After settling in, Lee decided it would be best to go meet all the neighbors, to get off on the right foot. And hey, if he screwed up making a first impression on one, there was like...how many more? He didn't know, but he was gonna' find out.

Having already met Carley, Lee decided to save visiting her for later. He walked to the house directly across the street from his and rang the doorbell. He waited for a moment, before the door opened. He stood in front of a small, Persian-American man with short, black hair and hazel colored eyes.

He raised a hand in greeting, smiling "Hey, man." He greeted. Lee smiled and extended his for a handshake. The other man took it and they shook.

"I'm Lee, I just moved in across the street."

"Oh, cool! I'm Omid, my girlfriend Christa is still asleep, and at like, 11 AM too! I was feeding the cat until you rang the doorbell."

Lee raised an eyebrow, chuckling "You have a cat?"

Omid happily nodded "Yeah, his name is Jackie. Christa got to pick the name and...she's really into Kung-Fu movies. Apparently, so were her parents. I'll take cold mountain over way of the dragon any day."

Lee blinked a couple of times, recognizing Cold Mountain, which starred Jude Law.

"Hmph, you into Civil War history?"

Omid's eyes lit up, clapping his hands together with a happy grin "Hell yeah, man!"

"Well, what other Civil War movies do you know about?"

* * *

After a good ten minutes in the doorframe and one cup of coffee later, Lee got to get off to a good start with Christa, even though she was a mess and had just woke up. They greeted each other and spoke about the weather and stuff like that. Lee always found it strange, how the weather was always one of the first things that he brought up when meeting new people. Because hey, he didn't know what they liked but everybody's interested in knowing if they're going to need an umbrella today or not.

After finishing with the awkward conversation with the two, Lee and Omid gave each-other a shake while Christa just stared at him awkwardly. Lee exited the house and smiled to himself, with another guy as obsessed with civil war history as he was, they were going to be thick as thieves.

Lee returned to his house, deciding to go for a cruise in his car, maybe pick up some lunch while he was at it. He backed out of his driveway and drove down the road to the nearest fast food joint. He picked up a burger and some fries along with a root beer, he was treating himself. Lee just felt so happy, his life was in ruins just a while ago and now it was absolute bliss. While he was driving back home, he noticed a little girl in rugged clothing and an old hoodie. Maybe she lived in his neighborhood. He didn't want to make himself out to be a pedo, but seriously, this girl had another solid three miles to go before a neighborhood and to be honest, she looked like she had been outside for a while. He pulled to the side of the road where the girl was walking; he rolled his window down, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Erm, excuse me? Are you okay?"

The girl turned her head towards him, he now noticed how depressed she looked, she had tears in her eyes and appeared to be tired. "W-What?" She stuttered out.

Lee blinked a couple times, repeating himself "Are you okay? You look like you've been crying, little girl."

The girl shrugged, still holding the depressed look on her face.

"Do you…want me to drive you home?"

The girl broke into a fit of sobs, which Lee widened his eyes towards. He cleared his throat "I-Uh…"

The girl cut him off, raising her voice "My parents are GONE!"

Lee's jaw dropped, speaking in a concerned tone, he felt horrible for this little girl. Losing your parents when you're like…how old is this girl? Ten?

"T-They're gone? What do you mean?"

The girl sniffed her head in her hands, speaking a single word.

"Fire."

Lee gulped, quickly looking around "W-Where's the police? The Fire Department?"

The girl shrugged, her head remaining in her hands.

"D-Do you have anyone you can go to?"

The girl nodded "M-My grandparents…"

Lee smiled, nodding as he gestured to the back seat "Get in, I'll drive you there. Just tell me where to go."

* * *

On the trip there, the only thing they had done was introductions. The girl's name was Clementine; he pulled into her grandmother's driveway. Smiling, he stepped out with her. As they stood there, she suddenly took his hand in hers. He looked down to her, surprised, but giving her hand a firm squeeze. They stepped to the door, ringing the doorbell, an old couple answered, smiles on their faces. Lee asked them if he could come in along with their grand-daughter, and that it was important. The couple hesitated, before allowing Lee entrance. He took a seat on the couch; strangely, Clementine took a seat next to him. He smiled as he looked down to her. The grandmother took a seat on a wooden chair in front of the couch, while the grand-father stood. They introduced each other; the old woman's name was May, while the older man's name was Sandro. Lee slowly spoke

"There was…recently a fire at Clementine's house."

The old couple gasped, the old woman placing a hand on her mouth. "Good Heavens…"

Lee could barely bring himself to say the next sentence, he attempted to with a sigh. "Her…parents…" He stopped, shaking his head as he slowly looked over to Clementine, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The couple remained silent, before slowly nodding, May began to sob, gesturing Clementine over to her, which she did so. Clementine sat on her lap, remaining silent with that same defeated, depressed look on her innocent face. Sandro stepped over to Lee, speaking slowly "You just…found my grand-daughter and took her here? A complete stranger?"

Lee began to speak, before the older man cut him off. "There needs to be more men like you in this town, Lee. You did what was right without any questions, thank you."

Lee looked up to him, smiling lightly, he stood up, and Sandro gave him a quick embrace. Lee patted his back, before letting go. He slipped his hand into his pocket, taking a piece of crumpled up paper out, he set it down on the arm of the couch, taking a pen from his breast-pocket. Lee quickly scribbled his number down, gesturing it to Sandro.

"I know this is a tough time for you all, and if you need anything, here's my number."

Sandro took the number, nodding with a smile "Will do."

Lee began to walk out, looking over his shoulder to take a quick glance at Clementine as he stood by the door. She looked back, but strangely, she was smiling, tears still in her eyes, she smiled. She even gave him a little wave as Lee stepped through the door and closed it.

Lee sighed, making his way to his car and getting in, he didn't turn it on, he didn't do anything but just sit there and think. He wasn't hungry, not anymore.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, as always, reviews are loved and cherished. In the next chapter, I assure you Carley will be around more.


	4. Neighbors Gotta' be friends

A/N: Hey guys, sorry about the delays between updates. I'd like to thank all of my kind reviewers: Fandoms For the Win, Pie Guy, Punk Red, and Pikacheeks for supporting me. So, without further ado, the next chapter!

Lee opened his eyes, yawning, he sat up in bed. Glancing over to his clock, it was 5 AM, and he didn't have to get to work until eight. He sighed, having absolutely no clue what to do. He just sat up in bed, pulled his smartphone out from under his pillow and began playing a game. He played for a good ten minutes and began to fail horribly at the game, not because Lee was bad at the game, as he could usually make that bird go between the pipes a good twenty times before the regular death. Lee was off his game because he was thinking about Clementine.

Clementine, the name sounded so sweet. She had been through so much, and Lee couldn't imagine how horrible it was to lose the ones she cared the deepest about. But Lee was baffled about how she took his hand after they had stepped out of the car. Why had she done that? Was she thanking him? Lee had no clue, but he just found her so precious, and-

*BEEPBEEPBEEP!*

Lee looked to his alarm clock, he widened his eyes as the clock he had set to six AM rang, it had only been five a little bit ago. Had he lost himself in his thoughts that quickly? Lee sighed, getting up from his bed and headed downstairs to stuff some toast in his face.

Lee's day at work had been full of thoughts of Clementine, more than a couple times had his students had to say his name to tear him out of his thoughts during lectures. As Lee neared his driveway, he looked over to Carley's house.

"I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to just drop by, would it?" Lee thought to himself, he shrugged, pulling into his driveway and stepping out of the car. Lee walked over to Carley's driveway and stepped on to her porch. He sighed quietly as he raised his hand to the door, giving it a short couple knocks. Before long, the short, brown haired girl opened her doors up, smiling up at Lee.

"Hey, Lee." She greeted, Lee offered a friendly smile towards her, clearing his throat.

"Hey, Carley, uh…I was just uh, thinking that since we don't really know each other too well, we should try to get to be friends, being neighbors and all."

Carley nodded, gesturing him in "Sounds fair enough, you up for coffee, Lee?"

Lee stepped inside, shutting the door behind him "Sure, just sugar, please."

Carley nodded as she headed into the kitchen, filling up two mugs of coffee, she took a packet of sugar from the counter and poured it into Lee's drink. Lee took it, saying a thanks before taking a sip.

"So, Lee…what do you do?"

"I teach history up at UGA, you?'

"Oh, I'm a reporter for WABE."

Lee raised his eyebrows, nodding slowly "I THOUGHT you looked familiar…" he said with a chuckle. "I'll have to watch it more now, I get to brag to everyone at work that my neighbor works for WABE."

Carley sighed, rolling her eyes "It sucks though, my boss is a total bitch, making me do all this extra work and just…being rude."

Lee nodded, taking another sip from his mug "Sounds like it sure ain't easy for you, then."

"Not in the least, heh."

Lee looked into her eyes, slowly smiling to himself as he did so. She was a pretty interesting person, she began to talk about something or other, Lee continued to just stare at her. A vibrating phone in his pocket snapped him out of it.

Lee looked down to his phone, taking it out of his pocket. He didn't recognize the number, so he simply stood up, looking down to Carley.

"Excuse me."  
"Of course."  
Lee took the phone and stepped into the bathroom, he heard Sandro's voice.

"Hey, Lee."  
"Oh, hey Sandro. How's it going?"  
"I need you to come up here tomorrow, if that's possible. It's rather important."

"Something bad didn't happen, did it?"  
"No, nothing bad, no. Just uh, come up when you can, alright?"  
"Sure, I'll be there right after work tomorrow."  
"Okay, thanks, bye." 


	5. I want you to take care of me

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for not posting as soon as I should have. I'll crank out another chapter tomorrow.

* * *

Lee opened his eyes as his alarm clock went off, he groaned, his hand spazzing around on his alarm clock before finally turning the annoying sound off. He sat up in bed, yawning. His time with Carley had gone quite well the day before. Lee would like to think they were friends at this point; they had a good two hours to just sit around and talk to each other about their interests and the like. He and Carley had a lot in common, his favorite color was blue, so was Carley's. He enjoyed coffee, but certainly not as much as Carley did.

Lee got off his bed and walked over to the bathroom, taking his boxers off and stepping into the shower. He turned the warm water on and smiled as he faded into his thoughts. At the top of his list of things to think about was what Sandro wanted him to come over for? He said it was important, what could it be? He wondered if it was about Clementine, what could it be though? Another string of thought was Carley, he didn't know why, she had just been on his mind since last night, he tried to shake the thought off, but he kept thinking of her. Lee sighed, taking a handful of shampoo and squirting it into his hand, rubbing it into his hair. As the warm water washed the soap off, Lee sighed quietly, he considered going to go check on Ken sooner or later. He hadn't really spoken to Kenny in a good week, which was a first. He shrugged as he turned the water off.

"Maybe I can invite them to dinner." He thought aloud, Lee stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.

* * *

It was an uneventful Thursday in Lee's workplace, same Civil War lecturing as ever, and Lee wasn't complaining. The only thing more fun than learning about history is teaching it. Lee didn't care about the budget cuts because of the asshole senator his wife was being boned by, he loved his job. He loved teaching. He didn't care if his parents wanted him to continue in the family business and work as a pharmacist, he always wanted to teach. So his brother, Brad, took up the pharmacy instead. Lee blinked a couple times as he made his way to Clementine's grandparents. Lee hadn't really spoken to his family in a while either, this made a wave of guiltiness stab him in the chest. He sighed, ignoring it as he pulled into the driveway. He stepped out of the car, locking it.

Lee approached the door, ringing on the doorbell. The door opened and he was greeted by Sandro, he gave him a warm smile "Hey, Lee. Glad you could make it. We'll talk inside."

As he stepped inside, May was sitting on the couch, behind the coffee table. Lee gave her a friendly nod, Clementine came downstairs as she heard the door open, giving Lee a smile.

"Hey, Lee!"

"Hey, Clementine, how you doing?"

"I'm good, I guess…I uh…"

Sandro cleared his throat, sitting down on the couch "Clem wanted to tell you something, Lee."

Lee nodded, looking down to the girl; he sat on the foot of the stairs as she bit her lip, remaining quiet for a moment. When she spoke, she spoke slowly "Lee…I uh…I was thinking…"

"Take your time, Clem."

The girl nodded quickly, before speaking in a more casual, firm tone "My grandparents are getting older…and I wanted to know if you could…take care of me, Lee. My grandparents won't be able to take care of me forever, and…and I trust you, Lee. And so does my grandma and grandpa."

Lee couldn't believe his ears, they were lying, his ears must be malfunctioning or something, Lee's heart melted as he looked down to Clementine's eyes. She smiled so sweetly, Lee looked over to Sandro and May, who were now standing up, the same smile on their faces. Lee felt as though he was about to cry out of joy, Clem wanted him to take care of her. Lee had wanted nothing more than a daughter in his life, and Clementine was the perfect girl, she had been through so much, and Lee would take good care of her, he promised himself that he would give her the best childhood she could ever have. Lee opened his arms to her, nodding frantically. He slowly remembered the words that his mother would say to him when he was her age, he spoke them aloud.

"Come here, sweet-pea."

Clementine stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around him. Lee rubbed her back lightly, closing his eyes as he embraced her.

"Of course I will, I'll take care of you, Clementine. If that's what you want, that's exactly what I'll do."

After a hug that felt like hours, Lee let her go, smiling into her eyes, he stepped towards May and Sandro. May embraced Lee; Sandro simply crossed his arms and nodded to him with a smile.

"You take good care of our girl, Lee. Like I've got any doubts that you will, you call us if you need us."

"You got it."

After an hour of chatting and a cup of coffee later, Clementine gathered her things into a bag, gave her grandparents a hug, promised them she'd be back to visit during the weekend, and headed outside with Lee. Lee took her bag in his left hand, smiling down to her, Clem soon took his right hand, squeezing it.

"Thank you, Lee."  
"You don't owe me anything, Clementine. C'mon."

They stepped into the car, Lee watched her get into the back seat, smirking to himself "So, how about we go get something good to eat for dinner, just you and me? It'll be special."

Clementine's eyes lit up "C-Can we go to Friendly's? A-And have Ice Cream for dessert?" Lee chuckled as he turned the keys in the ignition "Only on one condition."

Clementine raised an eyebrow "What's the condition?"

"If that's what you want."

* * *

A/N: Woohoo, Lee's taking care of Clemmy now. Woohoo! As stated before, i'll get another one tomorrow. As always, Reviews are loved and cherished. I love you all.


	6. An offical Everett

A/N: And the biggest scumbag award goes to Nyan Bonk! For making false promises to his reviewers! I'm sorry for not uploading the next chapter when I should had, guys. school's been crazy as finals are getting closer and closer! Still, thanks for the reviews! They make me feel all warm and mushy inside!

* * *

Lee watched in amusement as Clementine dug into her ice-cream, taking spoonful by spoonful. He chuckled, taking a spoonful of his own and eating it. He then set down his spoon and looked at Clem once more.

Clem was oblivious to anything in the world other than her Ice cream. She continued to dig in, much to Lee's amazement. This girl ate a cheeseburger, fries, and is now eating all the Ice-Cream? Damn…

"Wait for it…" he thought to himself "Wait for it…"

Clementine dropped her spoon on the table, moaning as he placed her hands on her forehead. "Ugh…" she groaned in pain. Lee laughed, leaning over the table to pat her on the head.

"That's why you don't eat Ice cream so fast, Clem."

"Y-Yeah, I see why…ow…"

"Just wait it out, be tough, the pain will go away."

Lee chuckled as Clem continued to grab her forehead for the next fifteen seconds. It was finally then when she sighed in relief and went back to eating, though a bit slower this time.

Lee finished his ice cream and then sat back in his chair.

"How's the ice cream, Clem?"

Clementine looked up, grinning; Lee now noticed that Clementine had done a good job of getting some ice cream on her face. She nodded frantically "Good!" Before going back to eating. Lee found her nothing less than adorable.

Lee rolled his eyes, smirking. He took a napkin from the table, leaning forward to wipe the mess off of Clementine's face. Clementine squirmed as Lee fussed over her face "J-Just hold still for a second, Clementine!"

After some struggling, Clementine sighed, giving up. Lee finally got the ice cream off of Clementine's face, and then sat back down in his chair. "There, all done." As soon as he spoke, Clementine continued to gobble down her Ice cream, Lee figured the action he had just done had gone in vain, but, whatever.

Lee smiled; he checked his watch, nodding to himself. "Okay, finish up. We gotta' go talk to your social worker, so I can uh…adopt you. Like you wanted, Clementine."  
Clem soon finished up her ice cream; she placed a hand on her tummy, giggling "I'm stuffed! Okay, let's go Lee!"

Lee got up from the booth, holding his hand out for Clementine, who soon took it, smiling up at him. They headed into the car, Lee turned his keys into the car, then picked up his phone, calling Clementine's grandparents. Sandro picked up the phone

"Hey, is the social worker almost there?"  
"He won't be here for another half hour, don't worry Lee. Take your time."  
"Alright, thanks Sandro, I'll be there soon."

* * *

Lee pulled into the driveway of Sandro and May's; he got out of the car and headed to the back, helping Clementine out. The two of them walked to the door together, Lee rang the doorbell. May opened the door, a smile on her face, she greeted Lee then got down to her knees to let Clementine into her arms. Lee couldn't help but beam at the delicate sight. After the hug, May stood up and took the two inside. May took them to the kitchen table. She looked over to Clementine, "Would you like anything to drink, sweetie?"

Clementine shook her head, holding her tummy "No, grandma, I'm good. Lee just took me out to eat!" Lee looked to May with a tired, but happy look on her face "Oh, did I." he said with a chuckle, which May returned. Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door. Lee stood up, walking over to the door. He opened it up, met with an Asian girl, a little smaller than he was. The Asian girl was wearing a suit and had short, brown hair that went to her shoulders. "Kind of like Carley…" Lee thought to himself, before he scolded himself about thinking about Carley again. She extended her hand to Lee "Hello, are you Mr. Everett?" Lee nodded, "That I am, and you are?"

The girl crossed her arms "I'm Ashley, Clementine's social worker, it's a pleasure."

An hour of talking and paper-signing later, Clementine was officially an Everett. It was getting dark when Lee finally got to take Clementine home; Lee looked to the back of the car while he drove, smiling to himself as he saw curious Clementine looking out the window. Lee sighed contently; his life was going so well. As he pulled into the driveway, he looked to the back of the car, where he noticed that Clementine was asleep. He sighed, not having any idea where Clementine was going to sleep. Lee then assumed that until he got a bed in the spare room, that she could simply sleep in his bed. Lee decided on this and picked up Clementine in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck in her sleep. Lee stepped into the house and took Clementine upstairs to his room. He set Clementine down into the bed, and pulled the covers up over her. Finally, Lee leaned down to her and planted a kiss on her forehead, whispering to her.

"Sweet dreams, sweet-pea."

Lee lay down on the floor, placing the back of his head in his palms. Lee closed his eyes, a smile on his face.


	7. That Was Carley

A/N: Woo, my longest chapter yet! For those of you who are reading mainly for the promised CarLee, don't worry, you'll be satisfied next chapter! As always, thanks for all the kind reviews!

* * *

Lee groaned as he got up, he sat up and waited for everything to come to him. He suddenly remembered why he had slept on the floor last night. Lee gulped, standing up and being careful not to wake up Clementine. He had work today, but he could certainly take it off, he had to get stuff for Clementine's room, and an actual place to sleep so he could sleep in comfort the next morning. Lee stepped out of the room, giving one glance back to the little girl he adored so much. She looked so peaceful when she slept, Lee couldn't help but smile. Lee carefully opened the door and closed it, as quiet as he could be. Lee headed downstairs into the kitchen, taking his cell phone out and dialing the number for work. After a good job at faking sick, Lee looked towards the fridge; he wondered how much food was in there…

Clementine yawned, sitting up in bed; she had slept wonderfully in Lee's bed the night before. She looked over to the clock, and simply stared at the bright red digital time for five minutes or so. Clementine continued to do this until the delicious scent of bacon began to flow through the house. If there was one thing that Clementine loved more than Ice Cream, it was bacon. She quickly hopped out of Lee's bed and rushed downstairs. Lee was humming a tune to himself when she arrived in the kitchen. Lee had been toasting bread and was attempting to juggle frying bacon and scrambled eggs at the same time. Lee was no cook for sure, but he was trying, and he was doing a good job, and that's all that mattered to Clementine.

"Hey, Lee." She greeted him, Lee took a quick glance over his shoulder to nod to her with a smile

"Hey, honey. Sleep well?" He asked as he continued juggling the eggs and bacon.

Clementine nodded "Yeah, you have the best bed ever Lee!"

Lee chuckled, he walked over to the cupboard and took two glasses out, he beckoned Clementine over and held out the glasses to her. "Fill these up with milk for me? The carton's in the fridge, hun."

Clementine was eager to help, she nodded and set the two glasses down at the table and walked over to the fridge, she opened it up and took the carton of milk from inside. Clementine shut the door and walked back over to the table, filling the glasses up with the milk. As Clem sat down to take a sip of her milk, Lee placed her plate in front of her. The meal was simply mouthwatering, buttered toast, scrambled eggs, and BACON. Clementine quickly grabbed a piece of bacon and shoved it down her throat. Lee cleared his throat, smirking as he pointed a finger at Clementine "Clem, use a fork. That's the polite way to eat."  
Clementine blushed, widening her eyes "O-Oh, sorry Lee."

Lee chuckled, picking up his fork to take a forkful of scrambled eggs "Don't worry, sweetheart."

As they ate, Lee began to speak to her

"Alright, Clem. This is going to be a very busy day, after we finish breakfast, I want us to go meet Carley. She's our neighbor."

Clementine picked up her toast and took a bite of it, she nodded to him "Her name is pretty…is she pretty, Lee?"

Lee soon found himself blushing into his food, but spoke in somewhat of a mumble "Y-Yeah…she's…pretty, Clem."

Clementine took another bite of her toast as Lee cleared his throat and began to speak once more.

"Then, we're going to go see Kenny, he's a close friend of mine, he's got a wife named Katjaa, and a little boy about your age. His name is Duck."

Clementine finished up on her toast, giggling to herself "Dodging or quacking?"

Lee chuckled, beginning on his second piece of bacon "Quacking, definitely quacking."

"Is he going to be annoying?"

"I don't think so, sweet-pea, he's got a lot of energy, though."  
"So, he'll be annoying?"

"…He'll be a good friend to you, Clementine. I'm sure of it."

Clementine finally began on her eggs, which aren't her favorite, but she doesn't dislike eggs either. With a mouthful of the scrambled eggs, she asked "What do we do next?"

"Well, we're going to have Kenny watch you for a while, and then I'm going to go shopping for all kinds of stuff for you. Like clothes, a bed, that kind of stuff."

Clementine nodded, smiling over at Lee "Can you buy me a couple books? I like books…"

Lee shrugged "Why not? Sure, we'll get you some books. Books are good, Clementine. They make sure you stay smart. Speaking of staying smart, we're going to have to get you ready for school by next week."

Clementine finished up on her food, leaning back in her chair.

"My favorite subject is social studies."

Lee raised his eyebrows, eating the rest of his toast and moving the plate aside. He grinned at her "Oh? Really? Well, me too!"

* * *

After speaking some about history, Lee took Clementine across the yard to go visit Carley. Lee really hoped that Carley would be up by 10:30 AM, seeing as he took an extra long time to make sure that he wouldn't intrude on Carley's sleep. Lee knocked on the door, waiting for a response. For a while, they didn't get one, Clem and Lee just stood in front of the door for a while, before finally the door opened. Carley smiled up at Lee.

"Hey, Lee. Good morning!"

"Hey, Carley, I want you to meet Clementine. I'm going to be taking care of her for now on."

Carley got on her knees to be at Clementine's level "Hey there, Clementine. You sure do look pretty today."  
Clementine spoke in a quiet, shy tone "Thanks…" she would say quietly.

Carley stood back up, yawning quietly. "How about the both of you come in? Would the new parent want some coffee?"  
Lee shrugged "All I had to drink was milk, my little helper here poured us both a glass."

Carley nodded, giving Lee a poke in the ribs before leading them into the kitchen.

Carley already had a mug of her own black liquid on the counter, she opened up the cabinet and poured a cup of coffee for Lee. Clementine followed Carley into the kitchen, placing her hands behind her back casually "Can I help?" she asked, "Lee always says I'm a great helper!"

Carley smiled, giving Clementine a pat on the head, "Sure, go get some sugar from the drawer over there, sweetie."  
Clementine nodded as she fixed her hat back on and headed over to the drawer, opening it up and taking a couple packets of sugar. Clementine took the packets of sugar back to Carley and set them on the counter.

"Thanks, sweetie." She would say. Lee walked into the kitchen, nodding to them both. "Hey, girls…is the coffee almost ready?"  
Carley nodded "Almost, our little helper here just needs to put the sugar in your coffee, Lee."

Clementine ripped one of the packets open and poured the sugar into Lee's coffee, she looked up to Carley "What now?"

Carley opened a drawer next to clementine, filled with silverware, all organized into large spoons, small spoons, small and large forks, and finally, knives. Carley took a small spoon from the drawer and handed it to Clem. "Stir it a bit."

Clementine did as Carley said and began to stir the coffee, after a silent minute of everyone watching Clementine preform the simple task, Clem took the spoon out and held the coffee out to Lee.

Lee took the mug of coffee and brought it to his lips; he took a sip and smiled.

"It's delicious, Clementine. You did a great job."

Clementine beamed up at Lee, then she wandered off to check out the rest of Carley's house. Carley took her mug from the counter and took a sip of it. She smiled at Lee "You're a great care-taker, Lee. She's lucky she has you."

"Thanks, Carley."

They stood there in silence for a while, before Carley eventually spoke up "So uh…are you…doing anything tomorrow?"  
Lee blinked a couple times, not exactly sure what he would be doing, himself.

"Uh, why?"  
"Well, I was…just…wondering if you wanted to go do something. Kenny could watch after Clementine or something like that."

She was asking him out, Lee couldn't believe it. He cleared his throat and spoke.

"Well, sure. Yeah, I'll give you my number and we can work out a time."

Carley nodded, a simple smile on the outside, but a gigantic grin on the inside. Both of them were nervous, and afraid of screwing something up, but neither of them planned on chickening out, either.

* * *

As Lee had finished giving Carley his number, he decided it was a good time to take Clementine to Kenny's. The two walked down the street until they got to Ken's house, where Lee rang the doorbell. The man himself opened the door and smiled "Hey, Lee. Who's this?"  
"Hey, Kenny. This is Clementine, I'm going to be taking care of her for now on."

"Damn, why'd you come here?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could watch her while I do some shopping for her. Have her meet Duck and Katjaa."

Kenny shrugged, nodding "Sure, pal'. Duck and her will be great friends, c'mon Clementine."  
Clem looked up at Lee, her expression was nervous. Lee crouched down to her level, opening his arms to allow Clementine to give him a hug.

"It'll be okay, sweet-pea. I'll be back before you know it."  
Clementine pulled away from the hug, following Kenny into the house "Okay, see you later, Lee!"

Kenny glanced over his shoulder as he shut the door "Yeah, later Lee! We really gotta' go for a beer or something sometime!"

Lee chuckled, turning back to the car. He got in and backed out of the driveway, driving off to the store.

At the store, Lee bought Clementine a bed, a couple books, some clothes, and a nightlight.

Lee returned to Kenny's house to pick up Clem. He rang the doorbell and waited. Katjaa opened the door. "Hey, Lee." She greeted, "Here for Clem?"  
Lee nodded "You bet."

Katjaa nodded, closing the door once more. A minute or so later, Clementine opened the door with Kenny by her side. She ran into Lee's arms as Lee crouched down to her level.

"Hey, sweet-pea! How was Kenny, Duck, and Katjaa?"  
"It was good; Kenny put a movie on for Duck and me!"

Lee stood up, cracking his neck as he focused his attention on Kenny. "Thanks for watching her, man."

Kenny nodded, smiling. "Anytime, Lee! You have yourself a sweet little girl. We'd love to take care of her any time!"

Lee chuckled, taking off Clementine's hat to ruffle her hair affectionately. "Alright, Clem. Let's head home."  
Clementine nodded, taking Lee's hand as they walked to the car together. As Lee got in the car, he felt his phone vibrate. He accepted the call and placed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"  
"Hey, Lee. This is Carley."  
"Oh, hey Carley."  
"So, I think I found a place to go tomorrow. It's this Italian restaurant down the street that I've yet to try. You still want to come, right?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah! Of course!"  
"Okay, how about tomorrow, around five?"

"Sure, sounds good."  
She hung up, and Lee placed his phone back into his pocket. Clementine raised an eyebrow as Lee started the car "Who was that?"  
Lee smiled to himself, the words in his mind were "That was the most beautiful woman in the world." But the words that came out of his mouth were "That…was Carley."


	8. A night to remember

A/N: I'M. NOT. DEAD! Hey guys, it's Nyan Bonk here, with exams finally over and the summer at it's early beginnings, I can begin to focus on writing this beautiful story a lot more now. Thanks to all of the people who waited for this chapter, your reviews are really encouraging. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Lee sighed, looking at his watch nervously once more. He looked back in the mirror, he was wearing a simple blue collared shirt with khakis, and he wondered if it was enough. He was conflicted on whether he should try to look casual or more formal; this wasn't like, an official date, was it? His train of thought was cut off when he felt a vibration in his pocket. Lee quickly took his smartphone from his pocket and glanced at the caller, Kenny. He accepted the call and put the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Ken."

"Erm, hey Lee…you're not gonna' be happy about this…"

Lee blinked, sighing. Please don't make him say that he-

"I can't watch Clementine tonight, I-I'm sorry man! It's just that Katjaa wants us all to go out with her family tonight and we can't bring Clementine along."

Lee sighed once more, nodding although Kenny obviously couldn't see it.

"Alright, later Ken."

Lee placed the phone in his pocket, shaking his head. Great, just fuckin' great.

Lee headed downstairs, smiling to Clem as she watched TV. He heard a knock on the door; Lee walked over to the door and unlocked it, opening it up.

"Hey, man!"

He smiled when he noticed Omid's beaming face.

"Hey, I was just uh…kinda' bored and Christa's out seeing her parents so…you mind if I hang for a bit?"

Lee went to go to say something when he noticed Omid look over to Clementine on the couch, widening his eyes "Oh, shit! You didn't tell me you had a kid, man!"

Lee chuckles, shaking his head "It's uh, kinda' a long story. This is Clementine."

Clem got up off the couch, giving a sweet little smile to Omid, which Omid returned. He held out his hand to her "I'm Omid!" She shook it, giggling. "You're funny…"

Lee cleared his throat, bringing his hand back to scratch his neck. He didn't have a ton of time and he trusted Omid enough. "Omid," he began "Would you uh…mind watching Clementine while I go out to dinner with Carley?"

Omid widened his eyes, chuckling "Oh, damn. You and Carley are dating, man?"

Lee cleared his throat once more, shrugging "Uh…I…I don't know." To which Omid emitted a laugh to "Ah, it's like that. Yeah! I'd love to watch Clementine!"

Lee nodded gratefully, he looked down to Clementine, as if to ask for her permission silently. To which, surprisingly, she nodded. Lee nodded back as he looked up to Omid, pulling a twenty dollar bill from his wallet. "Here, this should be enough for pizza." Omid grins, looking down to Clem "What do you like on your pizza, girl?"

Clementine shrugged "The only thing I've had on pizza before is cheese…"

Omid nods "Well, we gotta' show you some peperoni and sausage! And uh…possibly like…vegetables and stuff so it's healthy, Lee."

Lee nods, crouching down to his little girl to give her a hug. Clementine wrapped her arms around him, giggling "Have fun with Carley, Lee!" Lee smirked "I will, have fun with Omid, Clem." And, after that, Lee proceeded out the door and headed to his car.

Omid remained silent, before looking down to Clem "Screw vegetables, am I right?"  
Clementine giggled "Yeah! I hate veggies…"

* * *

Lee sighed as he pulled into the driveway of the restaurant; he looked down at himself, sighing as he mumbled "Well…this is it." He steps out of the car, taking a glance at the sun, which was now a bright orange, battling with the sky to stay out for another hour.

He approaches the door, and just as he's about to open it, he feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns around to see a smiling Carley, she was wearing a white blouse with a dull green skirt.

He smiled to himself, clearing his throat "You uh, look nice today." To which Carley would return the smile, poking him in the chest "Yeah, you too."

They step into the restaurant and the waiter finds them seats. They sit down opposite from each other, exchanging smiles. They mirror each other's nervous movements, although unaware. Every nervous glance down, every shy smile. It is eventually Carley who breaks the silence

"So…what'd you do with Clementine?"  
Lee chuckles to himself, "I left her with Omid, I think she'll be just fine."

Carley leans back in her seat, laughing "Omid? Yeah, I think she'll be fine."

A young, blonde haired woman approaches the table, she nods to Carley and Lee.

"Hi," she begins with a warm smile "I'm Molly, I'm going to be your waitress this evening. Should we start off with some drinks?"

Lee glances over to Carley, before turning back to Molly "Uh, just a coke is fine." Carley shrugs "I'll have a Dr. Pepper, please." The young waitress writes down their order on a notepad before nodding "Alright, the drinks will be right out!"

* * *

Christa stepped into the house, sighing, it had been a long night of listening to her father go on about stupid shit. She just wanted to relax; she closed the door, and glanced around.

"Weird…" she thought to herself as she didn't notice Omid. "Omid?" She shouted, but no response. She checked her phone, and blinked at the text.

Watching Lee's kid, Clementine, I fucking love this kid.

Christa remained silent, texting away.

He's got a kid? I'll be right over.

Omid and Clem would be sitting on the couch, watching one of Omid and Christa's favorite Kung Fu movies: "The Legend of Drunken Master." Clementine leans against Omid as she happily continues to eat her second piece of pizza. Omid would be on his third, chuckling "I can't believe you had no idea who Jackie Chan was, Clementine. Lee never told you about Jackie Chan?"

Christa opens the door, stepping in and seeing the group on the couch, she widens her eyes as she notices Clementine. With a warm smile, she greets her "Hi there." Clementine nervously greets back "Hi…" she says. Omid pats her on the head "This is my girlfriend, Clem. Her name is Christa, isn't she beautiful?"

Christa glances towards the pizza box "There better still be some in there, Omid."

"Of course, babe."

* * *

Lee grinned as the waitress returned with the food, he was starving. They had both ordered spaghetti and it looked absolutely delicious. Lee dug into his food, Carley watched him in amusement before beginning on her own food. She was pretty hungry herself. They both ate in silence for a while, before Lee finished a mouthful of pasta and took a long sip from his coke.

"So, we should really do this more often. It's uh…nice to hang out with you, Carley."

"Carley looked up from her food, smiling "Yeah, we should hang out more Lee. Maybe bring Clemmy next time? I wouldn't mind her here."

Lee nodded "Alright, sounds good."

After they had finished the food, they stood up and walked out, after waving Molly a goodbye and giving her a good tip. Lee walked with Carley to her car, he cleared his throat "Well, see you later Carley." Carley nodded, smiling for a moment, before it fades, she looks down nervously "Yeah uh…later Lee."

Lee would turn to leave before he felt Carley grasp his shoulder; she stood on her tiptoes, her lips nearing Lee's cheek. Lee felt her breath there for a moment before she places a kiss on his cheek, and then she stood back upright and cleared her throat "See you around." She got back into her car and turned the ignition. She backed out of the driveway and drove off.

Lee's hand made it's way up to his cheek, feeling the spot where Carley had kissed him. He noticed what he was feeling now, a feeling he hadn't felt in years. He was in love.

Lee got in his car and drove off, thinking of Carley the whole drive home; it was around ten when he got home. He stepped into his house and turned the lights on; he widened his eyes as he looked to the couch in the living room. He saw Clementine, asleep, a half ate piece of pizza on her lap. Her head resting on Omid's right shoulder, and Christa, also asleep, on his left. Omid would be fiddling with his phone as he looks up to Lee, grinning. He puts his phone away.

"Uh, hey man. How'd it go?"

"It actually…went pretty well Omid."

Omid kept the grin on his face as he took the half ate piece of pizza from Clementine's lap and gestures towards it with his other hand "You hungry?"

"…Get outta' my house, man."


End file.
